New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1911. First edition. The illustrated issue, published simultaneously with the non-illustrated issue. A lovely, Near Fine copy. Complete, with four color-printed plates (including frontispiece) by Maria L. Kirk. Publisher's green cloth with illustrated panel. Minor edgewear to cloth, though the illustrated panel is unblemished and well-preserved. Contemporary ink gift inscription (Happy birthday to Elizabeth from Helen Potter) to upper free endpaper. Bookseller's ticket to lower pastedown. A very clean and bright example of a book that is difficult to find in this condition.

The Secret Garden is the most widely beloved and enduring work by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924). "Richly descriptive and quasimythical in plot, it is Burnett’s masterpiece and a classic of children’s literature. Inspired by the memory of a rose garden she had planted while leasing Maytham Hall in Kent during the 1890s, it also drew on Burnett’s lifelong fascination with children and her own youthful experiences of nature in Tennessee" (ANB).

Burnett was a novelist and playwright famous for her the children's stories Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and the present work, all of which have been adapted into films. The Burnett family’s personal and financial struggles certainly had an impact on her stories – she originally began writing to provide additional financial support – as did her travels through Europe, particularly England, where Burnett lived until she was sixteen. Her stories of friendship, family, and personal engagement with nature still resonate with readers today.

BAL 2115. Grolier Children's 100, 64. Near Fine (Item #8272)